Saoirse (pronounced seer-sha)

That's what's confusing me pig :) no worries!

I really like it. I wouldn't worry about having to spell it, I have one of the most common names given in the year I was born and it has 3 spellings, so I'm constantly having to spell it out, and I have to spell out my surname as well. It's no big deal. I actully think that people are more likely to remember how to spell it once they have learned, they never remember mine

Ah sorry it's spelled with a u in Scots Gaelic, o in Irish.

No forgetmenots the bh makes a v sound so siubhan is Siobhan spelled incorrectly differently :)

ginebra am I right in saying Siun can also be spelled Siubhan (but pronounced the same, not like shoo-von)? It's lovely.

It's a lovely name but I'm in NI and the political connotations is the first thing that popped into my head. Sort of nailing your colours to the flag so to speak. I also know about 5 dogs called it.

I really really love the name - I do think such things are fading rapidly into the past. Maybe if I have a DD2!
Plus it's something that not loads of people would know, especially not in England. DH just thought it would get a lot of raised eyebrows / commrnts back in his home community.

How do you pronounce Síofra?

I like the name Saoirse.

Lovely name, but I wouldn't have known how to pronounce it if I hadn't read the earlier posts.
I have a very good friend called Siobhan, who is Irish and told me how to pronounce, and a friend I called Grainy for the longest time until someone whispered that I should pronounce Grainne as Gron-ya. I apologized profusely to her, and she smiled and said it didn't bother her as she got that all the time.

Go with what you would like your daughter to be called, but also be aware that she'll grow up always having to spell her name and tell people how to pronounce it.
At least she'll probably be the only one in her class with that name.

I thought it meant fairy!
changeling is not a nice meaning for a name

@ kendodds, i didn't know about the magazine, I just picked up a vibe. So I've learnt something there.

As well as Síofra, I love Siún. Which can be used as a nn for Siobhán, siobhan is a bit dated for me but I love Siún. That's so pretty, but strong.

I agree, siofra is not great, it means changeling.

Síofra is even worse from a pronunciation point of view. And I hate it

Takingthestairs, I commented on this thread without reading the other posts and I am the fourth poster to link the name Saoirse to the IRA, so I don't think Kendoddsdad is on her own there making that link. It is a join the dots thing not a totally baseless bizarre thought process on her part.

I would avoid the name myself, and not because of the spelling.

I know someone who is English with an Irish name. Don't know if it's a family thing, or her parents just liked it, or whatever - the thing is that she has to explain all the time and it really gets on her nerves. And it's not one that can be shortened to an 'anglicised' nickname either, so she's stuck with it.

Lovely name, but it will be a pain in the backside for her for ever!

I don't like it at all. I'm in my 40s and Irish and when I was young, I thought that anybody called Saoirse sympathised with the IRA (or their parents did). Now I would NOT think that as Irish names are all much more fashionable.

I would prefer Síofra though. Can I persuade you to choose Síofra? So much nicer.

KenDoddsDadsDog ahhhh! I never knew that about the newsletter! Wow, that would of course totally change the context of the meaning of the name for you and your DH. And yes the religion thing makes sense for NI too.

Just shows how much location can have an impact on naming a child.
My name isn't very common but not difficult for pronunciation, as long as you're Irish and live in Ireland (!).. but it was a whole new world of misunderstanding/weird pronunciation when I moved to the UK

I think it's a nice idea, but has too many ira connotations for me too. I have a sorcha, pronounced sur u kha, would that be an alternative?

I love the name, but have an English DH who refuses to consider gaelic names with 'difficult' spellings...so annoying! I think they'll cope and learning that being a bit different but it is ok is a valuable life lesson!

And also a Gaelic name will instantly identify your religion.

Put simply freedom and was/ is the name of the Provo IRA newsletter. And where he's from ( a very republican area, South Armagh) it's a name given with connotations. I could write lots on the topic but its very pertinent to the history of Northern Ireland and some communities.
You wouldn't have an idea unless you had lived it - and believe me you wouldn't want your child to.

KenDoddsDadsDog - "I really love it but DH said it was a bit too up the RA for him"

What the actual fuck?? How on earth is a specific Irish name showing support for the IRA? Or do you think that because it's very Irish it sounds like something an IRA supporter would use? I'm genuinely confused by your DH's comment. I can't get my head around it at all.

And yes I'm aware you said that you have Gaelic names as does your DC, but I have no idea where that kind of thought process comes from. Seriously?

I'm second generation Irish living in Kent, with a Welsh married surname. I love the name Aoife and a few other names with beautiful Irish spellings, but I can't see it being a good thing for the child. My sister is called Ciara and the number of people that called her Clara as she was growing up was stupid. Also no-one in S.E. England seems to believe it's spelled that way, they all try to spell it with a Kei (possibly miss Knightley's fault).

I will be looking for a genuinely Irish name when the time comes, but I will make sure it's one that's spelled an easy way for the English to understand, and also that it's not a anglicised version because that really gets on my nerves.

I do love Aoife- now by comparison that's a name I probably would use.

I do love the 'unusual' name, well for the UK anyway, I knew an Irish girl years ago we pronounced it 'sor-sha' I think.

Although I don't think I'd use it due to having to explain the pronunciation/spelling all the time.
I do think it's beautiful though.